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Carolyn Byerly, Ph.D.

Degrees and background:

Carolyn M. Byerly holds M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in communications from University of Washington, Seattle; and a B.S. in education from University of Colorado, Boulder. She joined the faculty of Howard University in 2004 after previous posts at University of Maryland, Ithaca College and Radford University. She is the author of The International Handbook of Women and Journalism (2013), Global Report on the Status of Women in News Media (2011), the co-author of Women and Media: A Critical Introduction (2006), and the co-editor of Women and Media: International Perspectives (2004). Her articles have appeared in numerous journals, including Critical Studies in Mass Communication, Howard Journal of Communication, Feminist Media Studies and in edited volumes. She has received awards for her activist scholarship and teaching.

As a co-founder of the Howard Media Group, Byerly has longstanding concerns about media in the United States as well as the larger global environment. These revolve around the takeover of commercial media by very large, powerful conglomerates, the increasingly conservative content of both commercial media and public broadcast, and the lessening of access that women and people of color have to media ownership in the current climate of deregulation. She recognizes that these problems, which are being experienced in many nations today, interfere with open debate and people’s right to hold governments and corporations accountable. She comes to her scholarly life as a former media professional and political activist. Her scholarship takes both empirical and critical approaches to track the media-public relationship, to reveal specifics around media ownership, and to pose practical solutions to problems.

Personal statement:

As a co-founder of the Howard Media Group, I have several longstanding concerns about media in the United States as well as the larger global environment. These revolve chiefly around the takeover of commercial media by very large, powerful conglomerates, the increasingly conservative content of both commercial media and public broadcast, and the lessening of access that women and people of color have to media ownership in this climate of deregulation. These problems, which are being experienced in many nations today, interfere with open debate and people’s right to hold governments and corporations accountable. I come to my scholarly life as a former media professional and political activist. My scholarship takes both empirical and critical approaches to track the media-public relationship, to reveal specifics around media ownership, and to pose practical solutions to problems. When possible, I also contribute to the shaping of public communications policy by offering comments on proposed changes, critiquing studies funded by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), and meeting with FCC staff on specific administrative procedures.